Where Is He? Is That Him?

OCTOBER 4, 2020 STUDY NOTES MATTHEW 24:23-26 BIBLE TEACHER: CLIFTON JONES WHERE IS HE? IS THAT HIM? INTRODUCTION In the previous verses, we found truths related to the “Abomination of Desolation” It will occur at the mid-point of the 70th Week of Daniel It will be the beginning of the “Great Tribulation” There will be an unequaled time of persecution upon Jews and Christians If the “Great Tribulation” is not “cut short,” no flesh would be saved But for the elect’s sake the days of the Great Tribulation will be cut short So, what will be the event that cuts short the Great Tribulation and persecution of believers? Paul has an answer for us, 2Th 1:7 And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, The words “who are troubled” has the meaning of affliction and tribulation The same word is used to describe the persecution of believers, 2Th 1:4 So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure: Paul said Christians will face tribulation and persecution until Jesus returns Christ will “rest” the Christians when He returns, “rest” is the opposite of persecution Christians will have a strong desire for Christ to return, they will be looking for Him Jesus now warns us about being deceived concerning the truth of His coming again During the Great Tribulation, false Christs and false prophets will attempt to deceive people They will attempt to deceive Christians through great signs and wonders Claiming the return of Christ has occurred and they can point Him out to you Will Christians need to be told that Christ has returned? Will they know who He is? Will those who are lost need to be told that Christ has returned and told who He is? Will the saved and lost be looking for Him after He returns and ask, is that Him? The truth of the return of Christ will be revealed from heaven So, Jesus says, don’t listen to the false teachings of false Christs and false prophets Listen to Christ, He is the one who will cut short the Great Tribulation Mat 24:23 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. We must pay attention to “then” each time we see it, it gives us a chronological order of events This is the sixth time we have read “then” in Matthew 24 so far (vs. 9,10,14,16,21,23) (30, 40) Here, “Then,” means at that time, within the same time-period as presented in the previous verses Referring to “those days” of verse 22, which is the time of the Great Tribulation (verse 21) “If any man,” literally anyone, refers to those Jesus calls false Christs and false prophets Those who are going to say unto you, “Lo,” which means “behold,” or “pay attention” to me Their point is to pay immediate attention, it is time to pay attention, it is time to look for Christ It appears that during the Great Tribulation the return of Christ will be everyday conversation From what Jesus now says it seems that people will be talking about the return of Christ daily The followers of Christ will certainly have a longing for the return of Christ The “elect” are going to be praying for the return of Jesus Christ Knowing that His return will be their only hope of deliverance from the persecution of Satan Satan will take advantage of the opportunity to deceive people as they look for Christ Satan will send forth false Christs, false prophets, and scoffers “Scoffers” are imposters, the same as false prophets, 2Pe 3:3 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, 1 “Scoffers” will make fun of those who believe that Jesus is coming again, 2Pe 3:4 And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. Their scoffing and mocking will have been going on a long time before the Great Tribulation But it will greatly increase because it will appear that the Antichrist is the victorious one And many will be mocking, saying, “Here is Christ,” “There He is,” “Look, He is over there” False prophets and false teachers will attempt to lead people astray by denying the True Christ Their attempt will be to lead people to the Antichrist by mocking the True Christ They will claim to know where Christ is, but they will be pointing people to false Christ’s The False Christ’s will be those claiming to be the true Messiah or true Christ The “elect” must hear Jesus say, believe it not. Scripture is filled with that which we are to believe, but here Jesus says, don’t believe them Which is a strong command, Jesus said, “Do not in any way believe them” Do not believe the ones who are pointing to someone they identify as Christ Christians know Christ in their heart and must learn the truth of Christ through the Bible, Rom 8:16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: Through study of scripture you will know that the one they are pointing out will not be Christ The True Christ has not yet come, so how will you know when the True Christ comes? Jesus will soon give us the answer in this passage, but first he tells us--Mat 24:24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. “For” tells us why they are not to believe it when someone says “here is Christ” Because “there shall arise false Christs,” Jesus has already warned us of the false Christs, Mat 24:5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. “False” is the key word, all-of their claims are “false,” their message is “false” it is all a lie Satan will use all-of his power to convince people that their words are true, and they speak truth The term “False Christs” does not necessarily mean they deny the existence of Christ They will not deny that there is a man known as Christ, they will deny the truth of Christ The denial of the truth of Christ is what John calls the spirit of antichrist, 1Jn 4:3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. The prefix “anti” before Christ denotes someone who is “against” Christ It can also refer to someone who claims to be the messiah “instead of” Christ False Christs are those who falsely claim to be the Messiah They will claim to fulfill the promises of God and oppose the True Christ They actually-represent all that Jesus Christ opposes, that is why they are known as “antichrists” Antichrist refers to someone in opposition to all that Jesus Christ represents False Christs will take advantage of the Christians expectation of the return of Christ They will claim that they are the one that has been promised by God And that they can fulfill what the Christian is expecting Christ to do when He returns The “spirit of antichrist” describes the attitude and philosophy of the present world system The system that is against God will ultimately be personified in one being called “the Antichrist” Satan is preparing the way for the coming “Antichrist” who will also claim to be the Christ The final “Antichrist” will be a pseudo-Christ and antichrist in one being The supreme Antichrist will appear at some time in the future John says there will be many antichrists appear before the coming of the true Antichrist, 1Jn 2:18 Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. Jesus warned not to be deceived by false Christs and false prophets 2 Jesus distinguished between false Christs and false prophets There will be a future Antichrist and there will be a future False Prophet Antichrist will be a man, not just a system, but a man who will rule over the evil system He will be Satan’s man (2 Thess 2:9) indwelt by Satan and empowered by Satan (Rev 13:4) Antichrist will arise to be a powerful world leader (Daniel 7&8; Revelation 13:1-10) Satan will raise up many who claim to be the true Christ (1 John 2:18; 4:3; 2 John 1:7) There will be many “antichrists” claiming to be the one that Christians are looking for Jesus said there will also be “many false prophets” and false prophets, Jesus has already warned us of false prophets, Mat 24:11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. “Many” false prophets will appear and when they do, “many” will be deceived “False prophets” are those who claim to have a message from God, but they are of Satan Many false prophets are going to appear, claiming to have the truth about Christ False Christs and false prophets have always been present, but their number will increase During the Great Tribulation Satan will put forth his greatest effort to turn people away from God False prophets will attempt to get the followers of Christ to follow Satan’s man, the Antichrist Will it be possible? Jesus is going to tell us But first He tells us how strong Satan’s attempt to deceive people will be Satan’s attempt will include acts of miracle working, and shall shew great signs and wonders; “Signs” are the things that point to something else, which can be natural or supernatural signs “Wonders” are the works of miracles that attract your attention and cause you to wonder “Wonders” lead you to seek that which has been pointed to by the “sign” Which Jesus described as “great” they are “great” because of their supernatural source The great signs and wonders of the false Christs and false prophets point to the future The future coming of the Antichrist and the False Prophet The Antichrist and the False Prophet will be demon possessed allowing them to perform wonders Satan will perform lying wonders through the Antichrist, 2Th 2:9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, “All power” means that his powerful works will be manifest in many-different ways People will wonder and marvel at his works which are called “signs and lying wonders” “Lying wonders” does not mean that the things they are doing are not real The lie is what they claim to be true through their miracles, lies that are deceiving people They will try to imitate the things that Christ did while He was on the earth It will not be the power of God working in them, it will be the power of Satan, the evil one It will be something beyond the normal powers of man, it will be the result of demonic activity Satan will perform impressive miracles through the False Prophet, Rev 13:13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, Earth-dwellers will be impressed and influenced to follow the Antichrist, Rev 13:14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. Earth-dwellers, those who are lost will be deceived, but will the elect be deceived? Jesus is about to answer that question for us The false Christs and false prophets will attempt to authenticate themselves and their message They will deceive by their signs and miracles, they will do strange and unusual things They will do things that you would think could only be done by the True Christ And it will be a strong influence upon people, many will be deceived 3 insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Jesus says, it will not be possible to deceive “the very elect” We must be careful not to take His words out of context We must not make His words say more than Jesus intended for us to understand The context is the time of the Great Tribulation and the work of Satan at that time Jesus is telling us what Satan will attempt to do through false Christs and false prophets He will attempt to turn attention away from the truth of the return of Christ Attempting to deceive people by leading them to accept false Christs Satan’s ultimate goal is people accepting the future Antichrist as the true Christ But Jesus said, it will be impossible for the true Christian to be deceived at that time Christians will not be asking, has Christ returned, if so, is that Him? The truth is, the world will know when Christ returns, Rev 1:7 Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen. Jesus is not telling us that Satan cannot lead Christians astray, that would contradict scripture Throughout the Bible Christians are warned about the “wiles of the devil,” Eph 6:11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. “Wiles” refers to the many methods of Satan, referring to his schemes, tricks, and strategies The devil has many crafty ways to deceive and they are all evil He has the strategy of a military force of demons and his strategy is working today Satan works in many different ways and he has many deceitful tricks today Satan has his traps set today and he has more bait today than ever before But Satan’s most deceiving days are yet to come, the days of the Great Tribulation So, how do we as Christians prepare for those deceiving days of Satan? Paul gave a warning to the Ephesian elders, Act 20:29 For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Those “grievous wolves” are false prophets, Paul tells us what they are attempting to do, Act 20:30 Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. Satan uses false prophets in an-attempt to turn Christians away from God and unto himself Is the warning of Paul necessary today? Yes, and he told us what we must do, Act 20:28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. “Take heed” means to give your full attention to what I am telling you Who was Paul instructing? Act 20:17 And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called the elders of the church. Paul identifies the “elders” as the “overseers” in verse 28 What did Paul instruct the “overseers” to do? “To feed the church of God” “To feed” described the shepherd caring for his sheep, guiding, guarding, and feeding them But notice what Paul said about the church, “which He purchased with His own blood” Describing the way in which God acquired the church, which Peter describes as redemption, 1Pe 1:19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: The church has been purchased and redeemed through the blood of Jesus The cross of Jesus was a once for all sacrifice providing an eternal salvation for the believer, Heb 10:10 By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all Satan is powerful, but God has placed a limit on his power Satan can take away everything related to life upon this earth, even our physical life And that is what Satan will attempt to do during the Great Tribulation through the Antichrist But Satan will not have the power or authority to take away the eternal salvation of the Christian During the Great Tribulation, true Christians will not turn from Christ to follow the Antichrist True followers of Christ will continue to follow Christ as always, Joh 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 4 The elect are secure in the hands of Jesus, even during the Great Tribulation, Joh 10:28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. No hand, not Satan’s hand, not the hand of Antichrist, or any man is greater than God’s hand, Joh 10:29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. The hands of God and the hands of Jesus are one and the same, Joh 10:30 I and my Father are one. Jesus now makes another strong point--Mat 24:25 Behold, I have told you before. “Behold” places an emphasis upon what is now being said Jesus calls for our attention and He tells us where to turn our attention Turn our attention upon what He has already told us, and now is the time to do that But it also makes a strong point, the point that they have already been told these things Where do we find the words of Jesus? Where do we find, what Jesus has said? We do not have to search the books of the Bible to find what Jesus is referring to The point is not the teaching of Jesus throughout the Bible, though we need to learn that We can find what He has told us before concerning false Christs and false prophets in Mt. 24 Jesus refers to what He has just said and what He know says about being deceived Mat 24:26 Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. “Wherefore” leads to a consequence based upon what Jesus has already said As Christians, we should be able to understand what is going to happen We are given guidance as to what we are to do when these things happen if they shall say unto you, “They,” the wonder working false Christs and false prophets who are filled with deception The ones that Jesus told us not to believe, now Jesus tells us what they are going to say-Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: “Behold” is the same word Jesus used to get our attention False prophets will also use the word “behold” for the same reason They are going to make every effort to get the attention of the elect They are going to be telling the elect that Jesus has returned, and they know where He is Some will say that He is in the “desert,” literally the “wilderness” The “wilderness” will get the attention of the nation of Israel, it is a historical time for them They know the story, delivered from Egyptian bondage, and then they faced the wilderness But from the wilderness they entered-into their new homeland, the land of Canaan To search the wilderness for Christ would interest them, but Jesus said, don’t go The wilderness is also interesting because it is where John the Baptist made his appearance, Mat 3:1 In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, And the people went out to see him, Mat 3:5 Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan, Followers of Christ may get excited about searching the wilderness for Christ, Jesus said, don’t Some false prophets will say, behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. The “secret chamber” is an inner room like a closet, a place that someone might hide A place of privacy, Jesus often met with His disciples in a private room Again, Jesus says, “believe it not,” do not be led astray by their lies Don’t come out of the mountains to look for Jesus, that won’t be necessary There will be no need of super-spiritual prophets telling us about the return of Jesus There will be no need of someone with supernatural knowledge to tell us that Jesus has come 5 It is not going to be a heavenly secret that only special saints know about Even ordinary people are going to know when Jesus returns Jesus is going to tell us what it will be like when He returns in the following verses CONCLUSION Jesus is telling us, you are not going to have to ask, has Jesus returned? When Jesus returns you are not going to have to ask, where is He? You are not going to have to wonder, is that Him? How many times since you were saved have you said, “That’s Him?” You knew that it could be no-one but Jesus who was with you through it all Don’t worry, when Jesus returns you are going to know, “That’s Him” Listen to the song 6